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When you hear “South Africa” what comes to mind?

Before coming here, my first thought would have been “Apartheid”. Now I think of other things—animals, gospel music, teenage pregnancy, the ANC, pap (maize meal porridge), Generations, public taxis...

I still think of Apartheid, but in a more tangible way. I think about the lack of employment—how strangers in taxis will ask me if I know someone who’s hiring. I think about the high rate of alcohol consumption—how I refrain from going to the local shop on weekends because of the drunken men I’ll encounter. And I think about the progress that’s being made despite the imbalance that still exists between white and black South Africans in many parts of the country. Recently I attended a wedding in the village where the bride’s white colleagues were also in attendance, including her boss and his wife, who had adopted a black child. Such situations are so rare and somehow simultaneously so natural that they challenge all the apprehension I have about this country and its future.

A lot of countries have international reputations based solely on a single event, person, or landmark. It’s what happens over time, either unintentionally or intentionally through the mass media. The consequences are detrimental because not only do we limit ourselves by what we are told to believe about a country but we also do a disservice to the people of that country by failing to understand them in a more comprehensive way.

In early December my sister came to visit. We spent a few days at Pilanesberg National Park in the North West Province to experience one of South Africa’s great features—its dedication to wildlife preservation. At the entrance to the park, which is nestled in among rural villages, we started talking with two of the artisans selling woodwork to visitors. They were from Kenya and had traveled down to South Africa separately—knowing no one here—in hopes of making a good living. They’d come because they’d heard there was greater opportunity here, but after four years they were eager to get home to their families.

We discussed my being in South Africa as a volunteer, which (along with our TV shows and movies) can suggest to people that the United States is so free of problems that its citizens must go abroad if we want to do service work. My sister, who studies Appalachia—one of the poorest regions of the United States—was able to explain that while there are great opportunities in our country, poverty is a very real issue for many Americans. Eventually, we all began reflecting on this phenomenon wherein the media exports a single image of a country.

About six months after the U.S. got involved in Iraq in 2003, and shortly after the explosion of political tension between the U.S. and France regarding Iraq, I moved to France. Some Americans wondered if I would be condemned as “the enemy” while living abroad. After all, our country had just decided to start calling French fries freedom fries.

But my new community welcomed me so warmly that I often had numerous invitations to lunch or dinner in one day. There was no hostility or resentment because I was an American. I was an individual, and the individuals I interacted with recognized that. One of the most satisfying experiences—and expressions of freedom of speech—is being able to tell someone, “This is what I believe,” and having that person respect the difference between “I” and “my government.”

While I do think being in another country is the ideal way to experience that culture for what it truly is, the reality is that traveling is often a luxury. The next best thing to traveling is exploring the arts—not the media—for insight. We should read novels, plays, or poetry by writers in faraway places or places that aren’t so far away but have a particular reputation that may need closer scrutiny. We should understand others by watching films, listening to music, and reading blogs.

These forms of expression are raw and created out of a passion for communication. While the news may give insight on current events, the arts give insight on not only events but also the way in which they are handled in that culture, the way in which such events are interpreted and understood.

For some insight on South Africa, I recommend the autobiography Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela, the memoir My Traitor’s Heart by Rian Malan, and the following films: Sarafina, Yesterday, Tsotsi, Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony.